DH asked if I would cook our turkey yesterday (Wed), and at first I resisted because it would go against tradition, but DH reminded me that we were not having company over, that it is just the 2 of us, and we can do as we please, so I decided "why not?" I also went ahead and made instant pumpkin pudding ... slaved for a whole 3 minutes making that! I'm glad I went ahead and cooked yesterday, because it freed up my time today.
We had turkey yesterday, leftovers today, and will have more leftovers tomorrow. Then, I will pick the bones and freeze the remaining meat for sandwiches and soup.
We had talked about going to a movie today, and I was interested in "Australia," but when the reviews came out they were pretty tepid and I did not want to spend $14 for 2 matinee tickets to a movie that is only so-so, so we decided to skip the movie.
We came up with a much better idea. The weather was lovely and I knew traffic to downtown would be light, so we decided to go take a long walk with our dog at the Town Lake Hike & Bike Trail in downtown Austin. It was one of the things on my "To Do Before We Leave Austin" list.
For anyone interested, here is a link to a map of the trail:
"Town Lake" is not actually a lake but part of the Colorado River which runs through downtown Austin. Lady Bird Johnson worked to have the trail developed as part of her national beautification efforts. It winds through over 300 acres of parks that run along the river.
The trail is a bit over 10 miles, but we of course did not attempt to do the entire trail. We walked for 1-1/2 hours and probably covered over 3.5 miles. It was beautiful; it was sunny and the leaves are still on the trees, tho many fell as we walked. We all got good and tuckered out, especially our 4-legged little man. There were many other dogs for him to check out, lots of things to sniff, and squirrels to chase. He even got scared off by an irate goose when he got a bit too close!
We noticed several families BBQing and having Thanksgiving picnics in the parks. Only in Texas, eh?
Our only cost was the gas to drive us there and home again. I just love exploring places I have not been to before, especially if I can learn something new or get out and exercise in nature. It's the best of frugal fun!
After we got home and ate our turkey leftovers, DH had a bit of work to do and he recruited me to help him out a bit. The thing about being self-employed is that when there is work, you do it, no matter what day it is. It does not mean that you do not get time off ... my DH has plenty of free time to go to the driving range and hit balls, for example ... but he works at least a little bit every single day, 365 days a year. And I help him out whenever he wants my help. We are truly thankful for the work; it pays for the turkey and the gas to Town Lake and all the other necessary and good things in our lives.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
November 28th, 2008 at 02:06 pm 1227881163
November 28th, 2008 at 02:18 pm 1227881881
November 28th, 2008 at 04:23 pm 1227889391
Sounds lovely!
November 28th, 2008 at 08:01 pm 1227902492
BTW, DH and I went to see Australia on Wednesday (a matinee). It was a long movie (2 hours 45 minutes) and dragged in a couple of places, but I liked it very much. The cinematography was spectacular and I learned things I didn't know about WWII and the "lost generation." The boy who plays Nullah is endearing. Sometimes we end up liking movies the critics pan, and vice versa.